Hey guys,

Please - can you help me work this out?

I live in London and am not satisfied with life here. I was thinking of moving up to Manchester. I work in IT and could earn 30,000 Pounds there living in the city center. If I move to Calgary I could be making around 60,000 CAD.

(if you're familiar with the industry I am a MCSE, CCNA, CCNP and am focusing on Network managment)

From what I've read on BritishExpats.com, it seems as though Canada is overall more expensive than England. people have said they are left with 200-400 CAD after all the expenses and in England you could have 1000 pounds to spare...

The main thing I don't like about England is the Yob culture and the crumbling of family values. Canada seems very nice socially and to be free of the all the problems we have here.

So where would I have a better life? I'm just an average joe that likes does the normal stuff - I could move to anywhere in Canada really (as long as jobs are good and prices are low) I am happy to take on French if necessary. I've heard good things about the Economy in Alberta and people rave about Calgary, but then again it seems to becoming more and more expensive..

Any thoughts, opinions and personal experience would be warmly and greatly appercaited! :-)

All the best,
Andy

i think you have answered your own question.....you want to leave the uk!!!

we are moving in the summer to ottawa,and counting down the days......its a far better life for kids,no yobs,litter,vandalism....everything that the uk is becoming famous for......but you are only generally 8-12 hrs away on a flight and the flights are relatively cheap nowadays.
good luck what you decide to do.
the forum will answer nearly all potential questions you could have
Paul

Have you got your applcation in the system already?
From what I have read here, it can be a long wait...

ALL of them? You're in for a shock when you arrive in Canada.

Quick reality check. Waiting times for federal skilled migration to Canada are 4-5 years currently, so you won't be having any kind of life in Canada anytime soon unless you can qualify for one of the special schemes (Quebec selection, provincial nomination or priority processing for work permit holders).

Also, your industry certifications won't help you migrate to Canada in terms of getting points for skills (MCSE might help if you were interested in Australia). Have you got a degree?

Most of the ingredients for a "better life" can actually be found within yourself. As a general rule, people who are unhappy in England will also be unhappy in Canada, and vice versa. There are exceptions but not many.

If you had your CCIE then you might be able to bring in $150,000 in Calgary. However it is more about who you know in IT rather than what you know, networking is definately important.
Honestly with the Calgary market I think that you will find there are quite a few Network people out there, not sure that you would be in a shortage occupation.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

I live in Manchester - if you want to avoid yob culture, Manchester City Centre is the last place you should be moving to!

i suppose £30,000 in Manchester & $60,000CAD in Calgary are quite similar , Depends how you like to live , I have lived in various locations of UK and Spain , i am going to Calgary in 4 weeks on a work permit because i think it will be better than the UK and Spain for many reasons , i am taking my wife and 2 kids , nothing ventured ?

As a born and bred Canadian who now lives in London, I would have to agree with you on the Yobs, litter, vandalism and just plain rudeness I have experienced here.

However, I am not sure if that is just London, as my husband's family is from the West Country - Dorset and we do not see as much of it down there.

As to the standard of living, I think the main difference is in buying a house!

Here in the UK the average cost of a home is over £250 000. Whereas in Canada (depending on the area), you can get a home for half that (CAD 250 000). If you do the maths, it is a simple decision to me... your salary will be CAD 60 000, so your purchasing power is much higher! Also, we would spend CAD100 per week on groceries as opposed to £100 per week here. Again, to me that is half the price

Not to mention that in London, that £250 000 will only buy you a 1 or 2 bedroom flat at best. The same money in Canada will get you at least a 3 bedroom townhouse, or detached if you are willing to go a bit further out of the city.

My husband is in the same IT area, but more on the network security side of things (CCNA and working towards CCSP). He is hoping that he can start at around CAD60-65000 and work upwards. Of course if you both had CCIE, you would be laughing, but that takes a while doesn't it

I have no doubts that you would have a better standard of living in Canada. But whether or not you can adapt to the different culture is another thing. I suggest you try it out for a long visit to make sure (or go for a year working holiday if you qualify? think they call it BUNAC).

I have been living here in the UK for 3 1/2 years and we have just had our first child. This is the life changing event that has inspired us to move back to Canada and have a better life for our daughter.

So.... the waiting game has begun as we submitted my husband's application for PR in January 07. I suppose we are lucky as I am Canadian and have been approved as a sponsor. This is a quicker route than that of skilled worker application. But the waiting is still killing us

Best of luck to you whatever you choose

I work in IT also and find myself thinking the same things - I have been looking at Canada for a while now (probably nearly 2 years ) and haven't yet put in an application.

The comments I see on here that worries me about IT is that there doesn't seem to be the proliferation of jobs that you get here (maybe it's the concentration of the UK) - if you put your CV on jobserve etc, you could expect it to be ringing probably non stop with agents etc.... If you did the same in Canada, you'd be lucky to get even one call - as I understand it. There's already plenty of Canadians with the qualifications and they of course have the elusive "Canadian experience". Given the choice, no doubt the Canadian will get the job the majority of the time. There is no shortage of IT skills....

Don't let that put you off, just don't expect it to be like here, where you could probably get a job (or at least a contract) within a few days with no problems at all.

Of course, I'm not in Canada, so I have no first hand experience, I'm just repeating the comments that have been made on here, so may or may not be entirely true... Would be delighted if someone came on here an disagreed with me

To echo the comments above, if you want to avoid the yob culture, Manchester is the last place you should be looking at. I should now- I live there! And that's not to mention the massive rise in violent crime.
The Friday before last, someone was stabbed in the city centre in broad daylight. On the same day, someone else was shot in Longsight (a couple of miles down the road). Just the other day, a bloke walking down the road 5mins from my house was attacked by some youths and has since had to have his eye removed. He was on his own not bothering anyone!
The problem with this country is that even though there are nice areas, you're only ever a couple of miles away from a real sh*t hole.
I know this is a common phrase on here, but the country- certainly my experience of it- has gone to the dogs and is only going to get worse.

My wife and family submitted our SW application in Feb and we'll be leaving the country at the earliest opportunity. I know this is going to take a while but i've two young daughters and the prospect of them growing up here scares the life out of me.

We know Canada isnt perfect, but it's a damn sure better option than staying here.

If anyone is undecided about taking the plunge and emigrating, I would recommend reading Time to Emigrate? by George Walden. His son and family asked his opinion about them emigrating and he ended up writing this book, weighing up the pros and cons.

A thorough examination of the UK, what is wrong with it, what is right and what the future holds. Not pleasant reading, bound to upset a few people, and definitely food for thought. (Walden was gov minister in 80s.)